Mt. St. Joseph rolls to third straight title

Gaels have 5 champions

Rowe 1st with 4 crowns

Wrestling

High Schools

A week after dominating the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament, the Mount St. Joseph juggernaut crushed an even bigger opponent last night at McDonogh: the private schools state wrestling tournament.

With 269 points and five champions, the Gaels, the nation's 13th-ranked team, took the tournament title for the third straight year. They won titles with Jon Kohler (130), Brandon Propst (145), Mack Lewnes (160), Jake Bohn (171), and Kevin O'Connor (189).

"We didn't have a situation where somebody gave them this state and national ranking and they rested on their laurels," Mount St. Joseph coach Jay Braunstein said. "They worked so hard. They worked for everything they got."

Willey, a senior, had been a runner-up three previous times at states. "We're real excited," said McDonogh coach Pete Welch. "Moving up a weight class and facing such a tough opponent, it was a great win."

Third-place DeMatha's Mike Rowe (135 pounds) became the first-ever wrestler to win four private school state titles with his 22-7 technical fall over Progressive Christian's Michael Bressler. The tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, Rowe can tie Maryland's all-time wins record of 220 held by DeMatha's Wes Cummings with six victories at next week's national preps tournament.

Gilman grabbed two individual titles. At 119 pounds, Maurice Fleming defeated St. Mary's Lou Ruland for the second weekend in a row, 5-4. At heavyweight, Justin Wiley defeated John Carroll's JT Levendusky, 3-2.